Alamanther of Aglarond
Alamanther of Aglarond was a tall, thin, black-haired and -bearded, blue-eyed NG male Chondathan human of shy, stammering, silent-footed manner who was born in Corth, in Aglarond, circa 1299 DR, showed a natural aptitude for the Art that caused him to be snapped up as an apprentice by an ambitious traveling wizard, Ustragus of Telflamm, trained to be a researcher and spell-crafter - - and more or less walled up in a spell-hidden tower Ustragus owned in Altumbel. He spent his days working creatively with magic, padding around the tower in simple robes and soft slippers, frowning over experiments and details of possible incantations, writing meticulous notes, and “trying” ever-more modified castings. He kept no secrets from Ustragus and did nothing for himself or against his master, devoting himself to crafting spell after spell that he presented to Ustragus. Most of them were modifications of existing spells (Ustragus gently “steered” Alamanther into examing certain sorts of spells without ever giving him direct orders), and Ustragus took and used them to his own profit and advancement. Where the Simbul, nosing around to see what Ustragus was up to (she correctly suspected him of being in the pay of some folk of Aglarond who wanted her overthrown), discovered Alamanther in 1330 DR (by which time “the Shy Mage In The Tower” was about a Wiz12). She took the shape of a common bird (a grayfeather, something akin to a real-world junco), and posed as Maerauna Steelsharn, an entirely fictional courtier of Cormyr who’d been spell-trapped in bird form by an evil wizard of Westgate, but was still able to speak as a human does. She pleaded with Alamanther to keep her a secret from Ustragus, and tried to befriend him (to try to find out all she could of the doings, secrets, and schemes of Ustragus). She succeeded, and when Ustragus was blown apart in a dispute in Telflamm with the Red Wizard Vhalaun Trarr in 1331 DR, Alamanther turned to “trying to free Maerauna from her spell-prison.” As Maerauna, the Simbul steered Alamanther’s spellcrafting work more subtly than Ustragus had ever done, and finally “allowed” Alamanther to succeed in freeing her - - not only from avian -form prison but from the “controlled memory persona” of Maerauna, revealing herself as the Queen of Aglarond. Alamanther was both awed and shattered, fearing her wrath and thinking the woman he’d grown to love as he worked to free her would now destroy or dismiss him. The Simbul was aghast at his reaction, for she’d grown to love and trust him, and she promptly seduced him and took him as her consort, wanting to forge strong love and loyalty between them before he withdrew from her or sought to flee. Alamanther remained shy and gentle, preferring seclusion to public appearances and court intrigues, and remained in the tower. The Simbul visited him almost daily, cooking for him and teaching him magic she judged him ready for (between passionate bouts of lovemaking). So precise was her tutelage that Alamanther rose swiftly in ability and accomplishment despite almost no real-world “field experience” in spellcasting, and was a Wiz20 (and crafting increasingly useful and powerful spells) when three Red Wizards stormed the tower in the Simbul’s absence and slew him, late in 1331 DR. The Simbul’s grief drove her mad, and she was hurt even more when Mystra forbade her to work great magics on the Weave in attempts to “bring Alamanther back” (his body had been vaporized, along with most of the tower, and many Thayan trap-spells cast on the magical chaos of the spell-battle and the destruction of the building). Despairing of ever identifying the three murderers properly, she decided to slay almost every Red Wizard she found - - and set about doing so in a frenzy that Mystra did not prevent (and that shook all Thay). The Simbul’s rage has abated over the years since, especially since finding comfort in Elminster’s arms and with Red Wizards too young to have possibly had a hand in Alamanther’s murder, and she often spares Red Wizards these days who haven’t actively been harming her, Aglarond, her friends, or Harper activities. Nor did her Thayan-slaying begin with avenging Alamanther; rather, it fueled flames of enmity that had been burning in her (and causing her to blast Red Wizards from time to time) for many years. All that is left of Alamanther today are his notes; a few garments that the Simbul still keeps hanging in a closet, carefully spell-shielded against decay and insects; and his spells, of which the only widely-known one is Alamanther’s Return. Category:Humans Category:Wizards